If you were like me
back in the late 90’s, after school cartoons were an essential part of the school
week. And back then for middle schoolers like me after school cartoons meant
one thing: Cartoon Network’s Toonami.
In 1997 Cartoon Network began airing a programming block of
action cartoons called Toonami. The hybrid name came from combining the words
“cartoon” and the Japanese word for tidal wave “tsunami”. The name fit well because
that’s exactly what it was. This was the beginning of the golden age of
Japanese animation in America. What started as a trickle in the beginning of
the decade had turned into a full force flood of anime by the year 2000.
As many of you may remember this was also the time when the
Pokemon craze gripped North America giving a massive surge to all things anime.
What culminated was a storm of Japanese culture embodied by media, toys, and
video games which descended upon the U.S.
And at the eye of the great storm stood Toonami. Cartoon
Network’s programing block functioned as a portal into the world of Japanese
pop culture. For many Kids like myself, this was some of our first exposure to
Japanese anime.
I remember how my jaw dropped the first time I saw an episode
of Dragon Ball Z. The uniquely styled world, fast paced fight scenes, and screaming
characters who “powered up” before blasting their enemies into oblivion.
After watching Toonami just a couple of times I knew these
were no ordinary Saturday morning cartoons. These were very different from what
I was used to.
The spiky hair, flashing battles, and story lines that had
a crazy amount of depth for a cartoon, all seemed incredibly edgy and unique. These
were hallmarks of the anime genre that I would come to know and love.
Over the next
several years dozens of new anime shows were debuted on Toonami and gained
great popularity. Ronin Warriors, Gundam Wing, Tenchi Muyo!, and Rurouni Kenshin were just some of the shows that
Toonami added to its lineup.
The response from millions of American kids and teens: Keep it coming!
The Toonami Generation and Beyond
Anime brought something new to the table that American
audiences hadn’t seen before. The shows that Toonami introduced took cartoons
to a whole new level in terms of animation and story quality. While at the same
time, anime was appealing to a much wider demographic than traditional American
cartoons.
And so was born the Toonami
Generation. An entire group of viewers who had first experienced anime
through Toonami and had grown up watching the shows it aired.
But as the cliché goes, all good things must come to an end.
By 2008 Cartoon Network had begun to phase out its long running program block
that by then had been moved to Saturdays. And on Saturday September 20, 2008,
after 11 years of running, Toonami was finally ended.
(A likely culprit for the network’s decision seemed to be
its increasing shift away from Japanese animation.)
So where did this leave all of Toonami’s devoted fans?
Well…not really anywhere.
Sure there was “Adult Swim”. Cartoon Network’s programing
block geared towards teens and young adults had run some anime since 2001, but
this was hardly a substitute. By this time Cartoon Network had also begun
greatly scaling back on anime in this block as well.
This was coupled by the fact that no other network supported
Japanese animation like Cartoon Network and Toonami did. As a result fans and
Toonami faithful were left hanging in the wind.
Toonami wasn’t just a place where you could watch anime. It
was more like a selective guide that handpicked some of Japan’s greatest anime
and showcased them to America. Whatever Toonami aired you could be pretty sure
that you were going to like it.
With a trusted authority source like that gone, Toonami
followers were dispersed and left to their own anime viewing devices.
Since then many of Toonami’s old shows can be purchased on
DVD. Also special cable packages, Netflix, and online channels like Hulu have
all offered anime. But nothing since has come close to filling the void left
behind.
Toonami was great not just because of its shows but for its
absolutely epic packaging. The hosts Moltar and later Tom were engaging and
cool to a fault. Toonami’s promos always rocked and incorporated great music
and clips. Not to mention they managed to make anything look incredibly awesome.
For viewers, this created a bond between them and Toonami that made watching
all the more fun.
Today, I miss Toonami and all of the enjoyment I got out of
watching it as a kid. I’m sure there are many other former viewers out there
who feel the same way.
So perhaps Toonami isn’t gone for good. Though Cartoon Network
may not bring back the old Toonami of our childhoods, here’s to hoping that in
some form, whether on TV or not, there exists a place that serves the same type
of function that Toonami once did. An engaging platform made to show great
Japanese animation.
Toonami’s host Tom would say this before signing off for the
last time:
“It's been a lot of fun, and we'd like to thank each and every one of you who made this journey with us. Toonami wouldn't have been anything without you. Hopefully we've left you with some good memories. So, until we meet again, stay gold. Bang.”
Here’s to hoping that we do.
SuperFan5
* References
3. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-09-20/cartoon-network-to-reportedly-end-toonami-tonight
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